St Michael’s Church, Hudswell: Former Yorkshire village church converted into hostel for walkers and cyclists

Hudswell Community Charity acquired the redundant St Michael’s Church in the village near Richmond from the Church Commissioners in 2023. Since then, the charity has raised almost £900,000 in grant aid to pay for the conversion work.

The charity says the historic features of the building have been retained, while six ensuite rooms have been created, as well as a residents’ lounge and dining area in the former chancel and kitchen in the old vestry.

Annie Sumner, one of the charity’s trustees, said: “We were very keen that when guests entered the building from the porch, they would be able to see right through to large east window and up to the wooden ceiling, so the open design and the use of a lot of glass has enabled us to achieve this.

“All the beautiful stained-glass windows have been retained, restored and given secondary internal glazing. The former pews have been re-used in the construction of the bunk beds and dining table and the former pulpit is reused as the reception desk.”

Martin Booth, another trustee, added: “Although the current building is Victorian, we think there has been a church on this site for almost 1,000 years. We wanted to preserve our parish church and keep it accessible and in the ownership of the local community.

“To achieve this, we needed to give it a new use that would generate an income so that we could maintain the building and we also wanted it to be an asset to the village that would support our other community-owned businesses – the George and Dragon pub and the Little Shop.

“We are sure that St Michael’s Lodge will fulfil this dream.”

Martin added: “Not only have we restored a valuable historic building, but we have created a warm, comfortable, and energy efficient building, with power provided by solar slates on the roof, and stored in batteries housed in the undercroft.

“The heating is largely from far infrared heating foil hidden in the ceiling and the insulation and secondary glazing keep this heat in. All the bedrooms have their own private shower room and the residents’ lounge and dining area are located in the former chancel with the large east window and a wood-burning stove.”

The newly-appointed lodge manager, Melanie Sadler, said: “We are really looking forward to receiving our first guests in a couple of weeks’ time. St Michael’s is going to be a very special place to stay, steeped in history, surrounded by beauty and located in the vibrant Dales village of Hudswell. I am sure our guests will love it.”

The lodge will be officially opened on May 24 by Julian Norton, star of The Yorkshire Vet television series, with a barbecue and tours of the hostel planned for all the tradespeople and volunteers who have with the project.

The first visitors are then booked to stay the following night.